Delightful Propitiation
by Verboten Byacolate
Summary: In all of these moments, in between the blood and the ferocity of everyday life, he loved to watch her sleep. [NejiTen][FOIL]
1. F is for Failure to Thrive

_A/N_: Inspired by Shippuden 28. Not to say that all inspiration is happiness, sunshine, and yogurt. Anywho, this is my first submission for the big annual NejiTen community contest on LJ.

_Disclaimer_: I do not own Naruto. (Thank goodness; Shippuden would absolutely suck my will to live.)

_1_: **F**OIL  
_Genre_: Dramangst  
_Rating_: K+  
_Song_: Linkin Park- In the End

**F is for 'Failure to Thrive'**

Suffocation via melancholia.

At least, that's what I call it privately. If I ever said it aloud, people would suspect me of being more than just the team's kunoichi-- more than just plain old me. Hell, I'm not even the "pretty one" on the team. I wasn't even allowed that title. That's you, my dear.

_(I laugh, a hollow sound. You seem to recoil from its echo.) _

I have noticed something. Maybe you have, and maybe you haven't, but that fact is irrelevent. The fact is that it is, and has always been, and I'm addressing it so that it may not always _be:_

I always seem to find myself drowning.

Have you ever noticed? Probably not. I suppose you are just like the others in the way of placing me as just _there_. I am not someone special. I excel at nothing; I am not the 'best' at anything. There will always be someone better than me at everything I do, weaponry or no.

I do not pity myself, by the way. I'm just saying.

(_You are confused, though you try not to show it. Are you truly blind?_)

I am always drowning. That, simply put, is my fate. I wonder if that makes me special. And I wonder why water likes the taste of my flesh so much. I wonder still why I'm never under long enough to expire.

I suppose I have you to thank for that. Once. So thank you for that one time that you truly saved my life.

Was it payment for all the time sacrificed for your benifit? If only I could assume such.

Maybe you were finally able to glance through the window of the soul that you so adamantly stash away. Maybe there, you could see me looking through; maybe you knew that for once, I _needed_ you.

Sort of like I do now.

(_I kick at the puddle in the middle of our path. You are as silent as usual. Somehow, I'm not surprised._)

I'm not looking for an answer to an unasked question. I'm probably just talking to hear myself talk. Maybe that's who I am. But you wouldn't know; no one really does. You, as in_ all of you_, can't know anything about me; do you even ask of my surname? My family? You don't know me. I wonder if you'll ever try.

Even so, I trust you.

(_You seem to find my change of tone odd. I don't blame you._)

Don't look so scandalized; even if you don't know me, you still know more than most. This automatically gives me the go-ahead to give you all of my trust.

Are you surprised that I trust you? If I were being completely honest (_Your normally steady gait is somewhat off. It's not because of me, is it?_) I'd tell you just how much I truly feel for you.

(_You trip. Funny, there are no rocks marring this smooth path_.)

I've surmised that I can't be in love, though.

(_No reaction. Surprised?_)

I don't know you, and you don't know me. We're just two souls thrown together by Fate. (_Laugh._) Is it not a concept you are familiar with? Can you honestly say that you don't understand?

I feel a love for you. I do. But I cannot be in love. Not yet. (_Pause._) So please let go of this vice grip you have on my heart. It's quite confusing, and somewhat painful whenever you're near.

What?

Oh.

Well, I told you that I always seem to find myself drowning.

(_You're not laughing, and you're not crying, but I think I may be doing a little bit of both_.)

Am I out of character? Who is to say? You don't know me at all.

(_There is silence again. The same sort that brought on my confession_.)

So, Lee. What do you suppose Neji will think of this?

(_You shake your head, and reply that you definitely do not know. I suppose that I need a different audience._)

--

**You know what's messed up? The fact that Shippuden 29's gonna reveal things that don't happen until a gazillion chapters ahead in the manga. It's WORSE than fillers! GRAWR!**


	2. O is for Over My Head

_A/N_: A few nights ago, I literally dreamed that I wrote the beginning of this. I have a feeling that I would've dreamed the whole story if I didn't have to get up for stoopid skewl.

_2_: F**O**IL (Outer)  
_Genre_: Romance  
_Rating_: T+ (limey, but nothing too terribly extreme I should hope)  
_Song_: David Bisbal- 'Ave Maria'

**O is for 'Over My Head'**

On normal circumstances, Neji would have found a tongue trailing up his bare torso quite repulsive. Usually, he would've detested the the feel of calloused hands pressing firmly against his shoulders, using just enough demanding pressure to keep him pinned to the forest floor. On any other day, he'd be tempted to say, "Please remove yourself from my body, Tenten."

On most occasions, however, he wouldn't have expected it to feel so damn _good_.

His hands weaved themselves deep into her mahogony hair, gritting his teeth as she tacked his ankles to the soft ground with her own and nipped at his throat. She leaned upward, chuckling so that her throat vibrated warmly against his.

"It's your fault," she purred, burrowing her lips back to his throat.

Wasn't he supposed to be reciprocating or something...? He felt oddly helpless, and so returning her behavior was all but out of the question. Still, he wished that he could be doing something for her... anything... Why was he drawing all of these damned blanks?!

"Tenten, I..."

"Hush, Neji."

Oh well. If she insisted.

All too suddenly, though, she lifted her torso from his and stared into his eyes. Well... 'stared' might be a tad light. Her eyes seemed to pierce through his and into the soil beneath them, taking each little unseen dirt particle apart with further-darkened brown irises. She lifted herself to his horizontal height and placed her left hand on his cheek, staying balanced on her right. "Hey..." She frowned, brushing his long bangs out of the way, pushing his hitai-ate out of the way and lowering her forehead to his "Neji?"

"Hn?" he hummed, nearly unable to do anything else.

"Hey! Neji! You're not sick, are you?"

"... Hn??" he blinked awake, finding a concerned-looking Tenten staring down from her place in a straddle atop his waist.

"Are you okay?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly; couldn't she feel the way their mere contact _burned_?? In the weird, _good_ way no less?! "We were training, and I guess ambushing you with that sword hilt to the back of the head wasn't such a good idea." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly before snapping him a reproachful look. "But if you're sick, you don't need to be training anyway. You're burning up, and you're so red!"

"Tenten..." he rasped, throat drier than protocol would allow. "Please remove yourself from my body."

"Oh!" she blushed, rolling off and onto her knees beside him. "Sorry. I didn't want to drag you over to a tree for fear of staining your robes."

"Hn."

"Come on. I'll walk you home so you can rest."

Today, he concluded firlmy to himself, was a normal day. Crazy, concussion-induced dreams about your female teammate don't change that fact. Not much, anyway.

Aw, _hell_.

--

**I is does be blushing madly. Is does you be seeing it? -blush-**

**If you hadn't noticed, these oneshots do not go together. I suppose they could if that's how you percieved them, but they're not one story. I'm just not good at those :)**

**-Bya**


	3. I is for Insert Epiphany Here

_A/N_: I had to browse through my Limewire files and just sit back and listen before I got any inspiration. It finally hit me-- thank goodness! I have to make up for the horror that was the last installation XP

_2_: FO**I**L (Inner)  
_Genre_: Humor, romance  
_Rating_: T (language)  
_Song_: Sweet Tangerine, by The Hush Sound

I suppose you might even call this a small spoof from _Beyond Obsession_.

**I is for 'Insert Epiphany Here'**

"No."

Neji glanced up from his desk. Tenten was sitting on the woven carpet in the middle of his room, flipping deftly through one of his books. Judging from its fuzzy red exterior, he could tell it was the horrid _'Guide to a Woman's Fathomless Heart'_, written by the dreadful Haruno/Yamanaka duo. Just the thought of it made him shudder. "No what?" came his inevitable inquiry. She scowled at the page in front of her.

"I just can't believe..."

"... How wrong they were?" he asked hopefully. Surely Tenten wouldn't share the same feminine views as Ino and Sakura...

"How _right_ they were," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm surprised, to say the least."

"Ah." It would be best not to say anything in the case of--

"Neji, come here."

Drat.

He sighed, slipping out of his chair and towering above her. "Come _down here_." He quirked an eyebrow but obeyed nonetheless.

"What?"

"Did you really read this?" she asked, turning her attention back onto the hell-spawn. He swallowed.

"I really had no choice. It was... force-read to me, you might say."

"Well, then, let me test you," she said. The poor fool thought she was joking... until she sat up, book in lap, and turned to a random page. "What do you do if a woman..." Her index finger trailed down the page and stopped. "If a woman tells you she's fat?"

Oh Lord. Oh fucking Lord. Not this... anything but this...

"Erm..."

Tenten looked down past the book and poked her own toned stomach. "Neji..." she said, frowning lightly. "Do you think I've put on weight?"

"NO," he said with a frightening certainty, thankful for his naturally calm demeanor. Inwardly, he was sweatting bullets.

"Are you sure?"

"YES."

She smiled. "Okay. You passed."

A sigh of relief passed through his lips.

"But... do you think that I'm too skinny?"

"_What??_"

"Or maybe too muscley?" She looked up. "Am I a butch, Neji?" Her eyes shone oddly and Neji found himself truly frightened. _Shiiit_...

"Tenten..." He cleared his throat. "As long as you stick to your current lifestyle, you're perfect."

_Blink blink_. "..." Her eyes were still shining. He'd said something wrong--

"You're _sooo_ sweet!" she crooned, lifting her hand to put a stopper to her giggles. He scowled, snatching the book from her.

"This is lethal in your hands," he said cooly, tossing it onto his bed and pushing himself to a stand. She smiled up at him.

"I'm perfect, huh?"

"... Don't let it go to your head," he mumled, returning to his desk. She watched him, unable to remove the grin from her face.

"You're not so bad yourself."

- 0 -

**I'm going to be so late! Onto L!!**

**-Bya**

**P.S. Right now, it's 10: 10 (time) on 10-10 (date). I made a wish!! **


	4. L is for Lasting Forever

_A/N_: I had to finish two in a day! Yikes! Craziness there! XD

_2_: FOI**L** (Last)  
_Genre_: Romance  
_Rating_: T  
_Song_: Psychobabble, by Frou Frou

**L is for 'Lasting Forever'**

She was so still, he mused, watching her chest rise and fall rythmically with her breath. She leaned against his chest, completely relaxed in his arms, her head lolling onto his right shoulder. Her hands lay folded motionlessly in her lap. He knew from experience how much smaller they were than his own, and in her peaceful state, they looked so fragile; much less lethal than he knew them to be.

She shifted, her shoulder touching his chest lightly. It was the one he'd wrapped earlier that day on account of her carelessness with her own poisoned blade (heaven forbid she be scathed by any hand other than her own). The thought made him give a small smile.

She was so calm in slumber. If he'd never seen her take down a dozen skilled shinobi at a time, as he had a thousand times, he would have thought her to be an angel. What a coincidence, her name taking the meaning of heaven in itself.

She sighed, her hand falling from her lap and brushing against his ankle. He started at the cantact, and then relaxed once more.

She was so peaceful. So able to make contact. So unafraid to be this close to him.

Maybe... maybe he'd sleep, too.

- 0 -

**And so it is finished. I hope my work was enjoyed!**

**-Bya**


End file.
